ARLINGTON — Do you believe everything you see in the movies? Well, you can believe some of it. A doctor named Hunter "Patch" Adams standing on the auditorium stage at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington was proof of that.

As a kick-off for the 24th annual Superdance for cystic fibrosis, O’Connell high school invited the now-famous Adams, recently portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie "Patch Adams," to inspire the students to dance their hardest this year.

The Superdance is the largest high school fund raiser for cystic fibrosis in the country. Last year the school raised $1.5 million.

Dressed in colorful, mismatched garb, the gregarious doctor, also a professional clown, lit up the auditorium. He told the students to embrace life and to not be afraid to reach out to others. He shared with them what his father told him as a child: "Be thankful you are alive, then look around to see who else is at the party."

Adams is one of several doctors who run the Gesundheit Institute, a holistic clinic in West Virginia. He and his colleagues are currently planning to build a hospital to provide free, holistic care.

Born in Northern Virginia, Adams graduated from George Washington University and the Medical College of Virginia.

Inspired to become a doctor while institutionalized for depression as a teenager, Adams told the crowd simply but emphatically, "I love people." As a result of his experience as a patient, he was a pioneer in the idea of treating the patient instead of the disease.

"The ideal patient is someone who wants a deep, intimate friendship for life," said Adams. "When I see a patient, I want to spend two or three hours with him."

Referring to the fact that he has made no money and has gained no material possessions from his work, Adams told the students, "I’ve only known pain to practice medicine but I am a billionaire of the richness of life."

He said he will make $4 million this year and all of it will go back into his work. With a note of sadness in his voice, he said that the first donation to his clinic came 14 years into the project.

"Last week, two large foundations gave us all the money we need to build the hospital," he said. "It has taken a film — the modern church — to draw an interest in my work," he said.

He cautioned the students about the temptations of fame, "I don’t want you to be seduced by celebrity — mine or anyone else’s," he said. "Forget the name and remember the deeds."

Adams did not leave the stage without giving the school an example of his clowning abilities. While performing he pointed out that the humor in the movie was an understatement saying that he is much crazier than the movie portrayed him to be.

He described himself not as a birthday clown, but more like "the nut on the street." He views his clowning as a public service which "changes the mood on the streets by being playful and funny."  He will even disrupt family disputes if he thinks he can ease the ressure by clowning around.

Adams has led clown contingents to Russia and Bosnia, trying to bring smiles in the midst of war.

"None of this is what I started out to do," he said. "But the thrill of the quest is palpable everyday and I want to offer that intoxication to you."

Adams challenged the students to move beyond the Superdance by spending a week with a child who has cystic fibrosis or any other suffering individual.

"Take it upon yourself, with intent, that the minute you leave your house you will give," he said.  "Make yourself act conscientiously toward this goal.

"Think to yourself ‘maybe my feet will save lives,’ and remember that everyday is a superdance, so dance through life."

Adams concluded his speech with the poem "Devotions upon Emergent Occasions" by John Donne. The words of the famous English poet, who wrote this poem when he was dying and
reflecting on the ills of the world, reminded the students that:

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main … Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to
know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
 

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Copyright ©1999 Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.

This article was published in the Arlington Catholic Herald,
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 607, Arlington, VA 22203; Vol. 24, No 7;
page 1, dated Feb 18, 1999.
E-mail: letters@catholicherald.com
Fax: 703/524-2782;
Editorial: 703/841-2590;
Advertising: 703/841-2594;
Circulation: 703/841-2565

A note from the Web Master:

It is noteworthy and honorable that some folks are willing to stand up for a ban on Partial-Birth Abortion.  Let us not forget that ordinary everyday Abortion is also murder.  We must understand that murder is murder no matter the method.  Because one method of abortion seems to be horrible does not justify the other methods.  We should be horrified and sickened by any Abortion regardless of the method.  The Fifth Commandment spells it out clearly: "Thou shalt not kill."  A fetus is a person, a human being with a God given soul.  Imagine the pain the Lord must feel when any Abortion occurs.  Please contact both of your Senators and Representative, via letter or phone,  to let them know how horrified you are that Abortions are legal and to stop Partial-Birth Abortions and all other Abortions as soon as possible. (It has become apparent that they do not respond to email therefore you will have more of an impact by writing or telephoning.)

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